


In Your Dreams

by celestialfreckles



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: I guess), M/M, Reincarnation!AU, Then, and Levi does die (spoiler alert, but then it gets really fluffy, canon!verse, established relationship!Eruri, takes place about six months after CH84
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-08-13 15:12:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7981117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialfreckles/pseuds/celestialfreckles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In dreams, sometimes you have to wake up to see what happens next . . .</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Your Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> based off of [this](http://memosfromakutagawa.tumblr.com/post/148816606402/whenever-levi-dies-im-just-gonna-assume-he-closes) tumblr post by [memosfromkutagawa](http://memosfromakutagawa.tumblr.com/)

Steam from the felled Beast Titan billowed up and away in Levi's peripheral vision, partially blocking out his view of the clear blue sky. He lay there, the lush grass of the prairie tickling his bloodied cheek. The now emptied tanks of gas dug into his back and sides, and he reached down to unbuckle the straps that kept his gear in place. His fingers struggled to find the buckles and he looked up, pain stabbing down his spine as he moved. 

He dropped his head back to the grass, not before catching a glimpse of the stump that used to be his hand. Levi remembered now, the Titan had bitten it off. At the time, he felt nothing — no pain whatsoever — except for the burning desire to see the Beast Titan dead. A chill crept over him as he lay still, despite the warm summer's breeze that swept through his hair. His blood muddied the ground beneath him, and the tiniest smile turned the corner of his mouth upwards. 

_This'll be a bitch to clean_ , he thought, his breaths staggered as he stared up at the sky. It was so . . . blue. On the distant horizon, it was nearly white with just a hint of blue. Levi's eyes slid up, following the faint transition from light to dark blue. His gaze settled above him, where the sky was the darkest and brightest shade. A familiar hue — his favorite, not that it mattered. Not a cloud marred the sky and even now, the steam from the Titan was starting to dissipate. Relief flooded through him, and he sighed. _It's over, Erwin._ He then coughed, the breath he took was too deep for him to manage. 

"Levi . . . Levi!" Hanji's voice crept into his ears, their footsteps pounding against the ground as they ran up and knelt at his side. Two fingers pressed the side of his throat, their lips pursing as they adjusted their glasses. They took their hand away, ripping off the dirtied him of their shirt and tying it above Levi's elbow. "Can you move?" Their voice was muted by the beating of Levi's heart in his head.

"No," he said after a minute, unsure if he actually made any noise. Hanji seemed to understand him just the same. Snaking an arm under his back, they lifted his torso up to rest on their lap and cradled his head in their arms.

His eyes started to droop closed as the sky and the forest and Hanji started blurring before him. One eye opened of its own accord, Levi felt Hanji's fingers holding his eyelids in place. "Stay with me, Levi."

He shook his head once. "Can't. Too tired."

Their warm hand cupped his cheek, and soon their forehead pressed against his. His bottom lip trembled as he felt teardrops fall onto his cheek. "We're almost there. Almost." Hanji's voice broke then, and he listened to them sob for a second. "Just a couple more months and we're free. Hang on for just — "

"I . . . kept my . . . promise," he said, inwardly cringing the roughness of his own voice. Hanji lifted their head, turning to look at the steaming carcass of the Beast Titan. _I'm coming, Erwin_. Numbness had crept up from his extremities to his chest over the past couple minutes, stretching up to his neck now. It eliminated all pain, a blessed reprieve just before his end. Hanji sniffed, rubbing their nose after a couple of seconds. Levi watched Hanji turn back to face him, and he stared past them at the sky. "I . . . I'm sorry."

"For . . . what?"

"For leaving . . . you alone," Levi said, his gaze sliding from the sky to Hanji. "You're the last of us." Hanji brushed something off his cheek, a clear liquid glistening on their dirty thumb. Was he crying? He took a shuddering breath and let it out with effort. He really could not feel a damn thing. "I'm sorry."

Hanji pushed his hair out of his face, their fingers trailing down to check his pulse once more. After a minute, their hand fell away from his throat. "Where do you keep it?" Hanji asked, their voice quiet. "In your breast pocket?" With slight nod from Levi, Hanji dug into the pocket of his jacket and took up his hand, placing Erwin's Scouting Legion emblem into his hand and setting his fist over his heart — his final salute.

"Don't worry about me, Levi," Hanji said, tears welling up behind their glasses. "I'll be fine. I'll see this through to the end, so you and him and all of us don't die in vain. You hear me?" they asked, wiping away the tears rolling down their cheek. "You didn't die in vain. Neither did he. Or M-moblit or Mike." Levi felt a slight pressure on his upper arm — he thought they must be squeezing it — and he nodded. "I'll make sure we win."

Levi looked up at Hanji, a smile stretching across his face as he took another breath. They returned the smile, and he looked back at the sky. Two birds flew over Hanji's head, their flight paths intertwining as they flew away together. Levi watched them until his eyes closed, the sight soothing him as the air left his lungs.

_Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep._

Levi grimaced as he rolled over, stretching across the bed to turn off Erwin's alarm. He tapped the snooze button, and the horrid beeping ceased. He rested his chin on the edge of their king-sized bed, blinking as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Images from his rather vivid dream still flashed before his eyes — giant naked people eating and killing regular (notably, not naked) people. "Fuck, that was a weird dream."

Zach, their Golden Retriever, barreled into the bedroom, his tail smacking against the side of bed as he licked Levi's dangling arm. "Oi . . ." Levi mumbled as he slid out of bed and joined Zach on the floor, his voice still raspy from sleep. He reached around the Golden's head, scratching him behind the ears. "Who's a good boy? You are." He kissed the top of Zach's head, his tail still thumping against the floor. "Yes, you are."

"Babe, you awake?" Erwin called from beyond the bedroom door. Levi looked up at the sound of his boyfriend's voice, yawning. He squeezed his eyes shut as Zach licked his face, and he pushed his nose away, continuing to scratch the Golden behind the ears. 

"Yeah, I am," he called out, Zach letting out a soft _woof_ when Levi raised his voice. "Hush."

"Breakfast is almost ready!" 

Levi sniffed the air, and sure enough, he could smell the delightful fragrance of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Levi kissed Zach's head before he stood, stretching his hands over his head. His bare feet padded on the hardwood floor, Zach's claws clicking as he followed after him. Erwin stood with his back to Levi over the stove, fully dressed for work — save for the sports jacket tossed over the back of a dining room chair. Levi remembered then that this was the first day of classes. Smiling, Levi approached Erwin, wrapping his arms around his waist and taking a whiff of his cologne. One of Erwin's hands covered Levi's as he said, "Morning." Levi gave him a quick squeeze before letting go, coming around to Erwin's side and picking up a piece of bacon. He took a bite before slipping the rest to Zach, who snatched it away before Levi could change his mind. 

"You ready for classes to start?" Levi asked, as Erwin flipped a pancake.

Erwin glanced over at Levi, his sky-blue eyes brimming with mirth. "As ready as I'll ever be. Jaeger is just a junior."

Levi smirked, his gaze darting down to Erwin's crooked tie, and he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Of course he was wearing that tie — navy blue with tiny bronze keys dotting the fabric. He knew that Erwin privately thought of it as sort of a good luck charm for the first day of school. Levi had overheard him practicing his "keys to success" speech in the shower last week while he was getting ready to leave for work. Stepping closer, Levi went up on his tiptoes and pushed on his shoulder, guiding him so he faced him. He felt Erwin's eyes on him as he fixed the knot, straightening it and patting his chest before going back to being on flat feet. 

"There. You are now the most handsome history teacher at Rosewall High." 

Erwin scooped the finished pancake from the pan and set it on the plate with the others. "Was I not before?" Erwin asked, cutting a fresh pad of butter and dropping it in the pan and watching it sizzle.

"Tch." A faint _meow_ came from the other side of Erwin, and Levi peeked around his broad shoulders to see their brown calico, Zoë, looking out the window over the kitchen sink. She purred as Levi picked her up and nuzzled his neck. "Armin and Jean are still in Eren's class, right?" He caught a glimpse of two birds sitting in their nest on the branch outside, one preening the other. "You like them well enough." Behind him, Erwin said something about teachers not having favorites, but Levi was still distracted by the birds, thinking of the ones from his dream. Zoë's tail swished back and forth over his arm, and he glanced down to see her watching the birds as well.

Erwin's chin rested on the top of Levi's head, startling him. "What are you looking at?"

"B. . .birds."

Erwin sniffed a laugh, kissing the top of Levi's head before he returned to cooking. "You're cute."

Levi leaned his hip on the counter, looking back at Erwin. "You ever dream?" 

Erwin's brow furrowed as he glanced over at him. "Of course, everyone does."

"No, I mean, really vividly dream. The kind that make you feel like you've lived an entire lifetime while you sleep." 

Erwin squinted, his attention turning back to the stove. "Once," he said, shrugging after a minute. "Yeah, once. About six months ago." He looked back at Levi, a hint of a smile toying with the corner of his mouth. "You were there." Levi's eyebrows shot up and Erwin laughed. "But it was just a dream." Levi hummed in response, glancing back at the birds outside. "Shit, I need to go. G'bye, Zach," Erwin said, ruffling the Golden's head before turning and patting the brown calico. "G'bye, Zoë." He gave him a quick kiss on the lips, Levi frowning when he pulled away. "Nope," Erwin said with a laugh. "Anything more and I'll be late." Levi quirked his eyebrow and followed after him as he headed for the door, setting Zoë down on the couch as he passed.

Levi slipped between his boyfriend and the door. "You could be a little late."

Erwin's eyes smiled as he looked down at Levi. Levi rolled his eyes as Erwin then kissed the tip of his nose. "That'll have to do until I get home. G'bye, Levi. I hope you have a lovely day off."

Levi smacked Erwin's ass as he opened the door, waving goodbye before closing it behind him. He headed back to the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of tea and fixing himself a plate for breakfast before walking back to the living room and setting up on the couch. Zach curled up under his legs as he propped them up on the coffee table. Turning on the TV, Levi scrolled through Netflix before settling on re-watching _Stranger Things_. 

A odd sense of deja vu washed over him as the show started, though not from watching this particular show. Rather, it felt like this was the first time in his life he was so at ease, so happy. No danger to worry about, no enemies to keep a lookout for — just him, Erwin, and their pets. Sitting here on the couch with tea and breakfast in hand, even the leftovers in the kitchen, was such such a rare occurrence. The thought crossed his mind that it was even a luxury. 

But it was not. Not really.

Levi stared at the TV, not focusing on the show. In the dream, Erwin had died. A pang stabbed him through the heart now, remembering the aching grief and loss he felt in the long months he was without Erwin. He held his fist over his heart now, attempting to relieve the lingering pain. He blinked and looked down at his hand. Its position on his chest reminded him of the many salutes he made during his dream. Erwin had made them too, he remembered, the two of them standing proud side by side as they overlooked their troops.

Levi pulled his hand away, his brow furrowing as he smiled. _Just a dream,_ Levi thought, glancing out their backyard window at the sandy beaches and the vast ocean beyond. Erwin and he were safe now, and that was all that mattered. He picked up his steaming tea, taking a sip as he went back to watching the TV. _Not that we ever weren't, obviously. But it's strange how real some things appear in your dreams._


End file.
